OVERVIEW Cubes, spheres and pyramids are all great shapes to use for building. By now, you've probably looked at amazing and unusual shapes and wondered, "How did they DO that?" In this module, you will learn how to edit these basic shapes to make fantastic new building blocks to use in your builds. The information in this module is easy to understand and fun!
TERMS: Taper: Decreasing the size of one end of an object. Shear: Cutting the end off an object at an angle.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this module, you will have the following skills:
Rezzing different shapes in different ways
Cutting and hollowing prims
Tapering and shearing prims
Twisting prims
You will demonstrate your new skills by creating amazing new shapes to use in your own creative builds.
Different Ways to Rez Basic Shapes
BUILDING: SHAPES - MISSION 1
All building starts with putting together basic shapes. Just like a real set of wooden building blocks, different shapes can be stacked and put together to form new shapes. However, in Second Life, you can start with a basic shape and change it into something very different. Before you learn how to change, or edit, basic prim shapes, let's review the different ways you can rez these basic shapes.
Instruction
There are two main ways you can rez a basic shape. You can use the Edit window to create a basic shape or you can create a default cube and then change its shape. Let's practice both ways now.
Practice
The Basic Shapes
Step 1: You became very familiar with right-clicking (Cmd-click) on the ground, choosing Build and rezzing many cubes. However, you can choose which shape you want to rez by opening the Edit window before you create a prim.
Open the Build window by pressing CTRL+B and select one of the shapes OTHER than a cube. Now, click on the ground to create that shape. Using this method, practice selecting and rezzing each of the basic shapes shown. Note: You will not be able to rez the plant shapes unless you own the land on which you are building.
Step 2: Changing a cube to another basic shape
You can also begin by rezzing the default cube and then changing it to another basic shape. With a cube in Edit mode, open the Edit window to the Object tab.
image
In the Edit window, on the left side of the Object tab, is a dropdown menu: Building Block Type. Click on the down arrow to see a menu of basic shapes. Clicking on one of those shapes will change the cube to that shape!
Right-click (Cmd-click) on the ground, choose Create from the pie menu and rez a cube. With the Edit window open to the Object tab, choose the Building Block Type drop-down menu and choose another shape. Now click through the other shapes to see what happens. If you try to go back to your original shape, you may find it has changed. Try clicking back on the Box shape to see what it looks like now. Note: A Sculpted prim shape is a special kind of prim that will be covered in a later building module. For now, just explore the basic shapes.
Make sure you take the time to play around with all the shapes. Spending some time now will make you a better and more creative builder in the long run.
Using "Path Cut" To Slice Prims
BUILDING: SHAPES - MISSION 2
Building is just going to get cooler and cooler. What if you could just cut a "chunk" or a "wedge" out of a shape?
Instruction
You can cut different sized chunks out of shapes using the Path Cut Begin and End control. You will experiment with different basic shapes to see how this control affects each of them. Let's begin!
Practice
The Path Cut Begin and End control.
Step 1: The Path Cut Begin and End control
The Path Cut Begin and End control is located below the Building Block Type dropdown menu. The Path Cut Begin and End control will cut a section out of any shape you rez. The path it cuts is along the Z axis (the blue axis). The width of the slice, or chunk, that is removed depends on the Begin (B) and End (E) number values you choose. Values can range from 0.000 - 1.000.
Rez a cube. Make sure your cube is in Edit mode. With the Object tab of the Edit window open, use the up/down arrows of the Path Cut control to change both the B (Begin) and E (End) number values. Do you see how your choices affect the size of the "chunk" that is removed? Selecting a small value will look like a small slice has been cut out of your prim. A large value will leave only a slice.
Try removing slices or chunks from each of the other basic shapes. Experiment with different number settings to see if you can make a shape exactly the way you want it. Take your time!
Naming and saving favorite shapes is a real timesaver when you build. Good builders don't recreate a common shape each time they build; they take it out of their inventory. Take a few moments to rename and save some of the great new shapes you think you will use in your future building projects. You might also take a few minutes to practice your texturing. Slightly changing the color of a cut face can really improve the look of an object.
Hollow and Hollow Shape
BUILDING: SHAPES - MISSION 3
What if you could cut a hole in the middle of a shape and hollow it out. You can!
Instruction
Every basic shape can be hollowed out. In fact, even the shape of the hole can be changed. For example, you can put a square hole in a sphere or a round hole in a pyramid.
Practice
Making a default hole
Step 1: Making a default hole
When you first rez any basic shape, it is not hollow. To hollow a shape, choose the Hollow control, which is usually right underneath the Path Cut Begin and End control. A shape can be hollowed up to 0.95%. It is usually hollowed along the Z axis (blue axis).
Cube with hollow.
Rez a cube. Using the Hollow control, select the up/down arrows to hollow the cube. Do you see how the higher numbers make the hole in the cube larger?
Changing the default hole shape.
Step 2: Changing the default hole shape
Once you begin to make even a small hole in a shape, the Hollow Shape drop down menu will become active. Now you can change the shape of the hole to a circle, square or triangle.
Rez a cube and hollow it. Rotate it so you can see the shape of the hole. It should be square to match the square shape.
Hollowing different shapes.
Select the Hollow Shape drop down menu and select Circle or Triangle. Notice how the shape of the hole changes instantly!
Step 3: Hollowing other shapes
Actually seeing what happens to other shapes can inspire you with new building ideas.
Select other shapes and experiment with hollowing them. Change the shape and size of the holes. Note: The Ring, Torus and Tube shapes hollow much differently than the other shapes. Make sure you take the time to really look at them.
Step 4: Combining Hollowing with Cutting
When you begin to combine different building controls, you can really come up with some interesting shapes.
Create the Bench.
Look at the bench in the photo. It is made of three basic cubes. The texture is the Old Wood texture in your default Library Inventory. You've already learned everything you need to recreate it. Can you?
Hint: You can find the steps below if you get stuck.
Using all the building knowledge you have so far, make something wonderful. You are going to be a fabulous builder!
Hint: How to make the bench
Stretch and flatten a cube to make a bench seat.
Cut a V shape for legs.
Narrow the width of the legs.
Change Hollow shape to circle.
Link the three prims together.
Rez a basic cube. Stretch and flatten it to make the bench seat.
Rez a second cube, and cut it to make a "V" shape for the legs. (You may need to rotate it at this point.)
Narrow the width of the legs to your liking.
Hollow the second cube to your liking and change the Hollow Shape to circle.
Apply a texture to both the seat and leg section.
Select the leg section and shift-drag to make another leg section.
Position the legs and top so they look like a bench.
Link the three prims together and rename. Nice job!
Taper, Top Shear and Dimple
BUILDING: SHAPES - MISSION 4
You have already come a long way in learning how to edit and change basic prim shapes. Now things are about to get really interesting. Different shapes can react much differently to the same control. Two of those controls are Taper and Top Shear.
Instruction
When you taper something, you usually make it smaller at one end. When you shear something, it usually looks a little lopsided - like it's leaning over a bit. However, how Taper and Top Shear look with different basic shapes can be very different! For this mission, your job is to really experiment with all the different basic shapes to see what happens. Note: As you follow along, you will notice that different shapes show Taper and Top Shear in different places in the Object tab of the Edit window.
Practice
Step 1: Taper
When a prim is tapered, the top end usually becomes smaller. A prim can be tapered from 0.00 to 1.00 percent on both the X (red) and Y (green) axes. If you can choose negative taper values, such as -0.01 to -1.00, [for a prim, the bottom end will be tapered.
Rez a cube and a cylinder.
Rez a cube and a cylinder. For both, use the Taper control up/down arrows to taper both the X and Y axes to 1.00. Did you get a pyramid and a cone? Experiment to see what happens if you use smaller taper values.
Tapering shapes
Dimple
Top Shear
Step 2: Tapering other shapes
While a sphere cannot be tapered, the other shapes can. The results can be really surprising!
Rez all the other shapes (except for the sphere and half sphere). Really experiment with the amounts of X and Y taper. What is the most surprising shape you have discovered so far?
Step 3: Dimple
Spheres and half spheres cannot be tapered. Instead, they can be dimpled Just like the dimples on someone's chin, a dimple on a sphere makes a small dent, just at the end.
Rez a sphere. Change the numbers in the Dimple Begin and End control to see what happens. What might you make if you also hollowed that sphere?
Step 4: Top Shear
For some prims, such as cubes and cylinders, the Top Shear control will make them look like they are leaning to one side. For other prims, such as toruses, or rings, Top Shear will distort them in unexpected ways! You can use Top Shear on the X (red) or Y (green) axis - or both!
Rez each basic prim shape and experiment with the Top Shear control. Change the settings for both the X an Y axes and see what happens.
Are you beginning to see how much you can change those basic prims? It can really be fascinating to play with shapes. At this point, you are probably surrounded by your strangely-shaped objects. Take a moment to clean up. Name and save shapes you really like and delete the rest. Now travel around Second Life, and R-click (Cmd-click) on objects you see and choose Edit. The prims will be outlined and you can see what kinds of shapes are being used in some of your favorite builds.
Twisting Prims
BUILDING: SHAPES - MISSION 5
When you began this module, you may never have dreamed you could make these kinds of shapes. But wait - there's more! You can twist prims, too.
Instruction
In this last mission on shapes, you will learn to twist different shapes in different ways. Much like twisting a towel or crumpling a piece of paper, twisting prims will lead to some very interesting shapes. Take your time and fully explore how the "twisting" controls affect each different shape. For some shapes, you will have additional twist controls, which will be explained along the way.
Practice
Simple Twist.
Step 1: Simple Twist
Some shapes, such as cubes and cylinders, have only a simple Twist Begin and End control. To really twist these shapes, choose a large beginning number and a large negative ending number.
Rez both a cube and a cylinder and experiment with twisting them using the Twist Begin and End control. To really see the twists, you may want to stretch them into columns first. Other shapes that are based on the cube and cylinder shape will act much the same way. Try twisting pyramids, triangles and cones.
Twisting Spheres.
Step 2: Twisting Spheres
Like cubes and cylinders, spheres have only the Twist Begin and End control. However the results of using that one control are really neat!
Rez a sphere. Change the numbers on the Twist Begin and End control to see what happens. Pretty fascinating!
Tip: Combining the control with hollow and dimple can make amazing flower petal-like shapes.
Step 3: Toruses, Tubes and Rings
As you've seen all along, these shapes always seem to do unexpected and surprising things. Twisting them is no exception. You can easily make springs and curl shapes. In fact, these shapes have additional "twist" controls you can change. In addition to Twist Begin and End, you can control the:
Hole Size - The size of the hole in the middle of the spring.
Radius Delta - The extent to which each individual coil becomes smaller or larger.
Revolutions - How many coils are in a spring shape.
Skew - How flat or rounded each coil appears.
Play with these and you will end up with some amazingly complex shapes. This is one reason that many plant-like and hair prims begin with toruses or tubes - they can be changed in radical ways.
Twisting a Torus.
Rez a torus. Begin by changing the Twist Begin and End controls. Now, experiment with the Hole Size. Do you see the size of the hole in the middle of the spring changing? Finally, change the Radius Delta and Revolutions controls to see what they will do. As you change the Radius Delta, each individual coil in your spring will get smaller and smaller, like a pyramid of coils. The higher the Revolutions, the more coils in your spring!
Tip: Expert builders spend a lot of time learning how to make exactly the "right" shape. There is just no shortcut to figuring these shapes out. If you find you've made something unique and beautiful, name and save it!
Learning about shapes never ends. Just when you think you've seen it all, you learn something new. The best builders never stop learning! What would happen if you were to combine "twists" with all the other techniques you've learned in this module?
See the Torley video tutorial Learn Building at the Ivory Tower of the Primitives.
Building Test
Shelter - a house - is a basic need for each person on this planet. However, shelters in different parts of the world can look very different. Each part of the world designs shelters to meet the specific needs and resources of that area and culture. Using all of your new building skills, design and build a shelter for people in an area of the world unfamiliar to you and discuss what you've created to your supervisor.
Chapter 5: Building: Playing with Shapes
OVERVIEW Cubes, spheres and pyramids are all great shapes to use for building. By now, you've probably looked at amazing and unusual shapes and wondered, "How did they DO that?" In this module, you will learn how to edit these basic shapes to make fantastic new building blocks to use in your builds. The information in this module is easy to understand and fun!
TERMS:
Taper: Decreasing the size of one end of an object.
Shear: Cutting the end off an object at an angle.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this module, you will have the following skills:
You will demonstrate your new skills by creating amazing new shapes to use in your own creative builds.
Different Ways to Rez Basic Shapes
BUILDING: SHAPES - MISSION 1
All building starts with putting together basic shapes. Just like a real set of wooden building blocks, different shapes can be stacked and put together to form new shapes. However, in Second Life, you can start with a basic shape and change it into something very different. Before you learn how to change, or edit, basic prim shapes, let's review the different ways you can rez these basic shapes.
Instruction
There are two main ways you can rez a basic shape. You can use the Edit window to create a basic shape or you can create a default cube and then change its shape. Let's practice both ways now.Practice
Step 1: You became very familiar with right-clicking (Cmd-click) on the ground, choosing Build and rezzing many cubes. However, you can choose which shape you want to rez by opening the Edit window before you create a prim.
Open the Build window by pressing CTRL+B and select one of the shapes OTHER than a cube. Now, click on the ground to create that shape. Using this method, practice selecting and rezzing each of the basic shapes shown. Note: You will not be able to rez the plant shapes unless you own the land on which you are building.
Step 2: Changing a cube to another basic shape
You can also begin by rezzing the default cube and then changing it to another basic shape. With a cube in Edit mode, open the Edit window to the Object tab.
In the Edit window, on the left side of the Object tab, is a dropdown menu: Building Block Type. Click on the down arrow to see a menu of basic shapes. Clicking on one of those shapes will change the cube to that shape!
Right-click (Cmd-click) on the ground, choose Create from the pie menu and rez a cube. With the Edit window open to the Object tab, choose the Building Block Type drop-down menu and choose another shape. Now click through the other shapes to see what happens. If you try to go back to your original shape, you may find it has changed. Try clicking back on the Box shape to see what it looks like now. Note: A Sculpted prim shape is a special kind of prim that will be covered in a later building module. For now, just explore the basic shapes.
Make sure you take the time to play around with all the shapes. Spending some time now will make you a better and more creative builder in the long run.
Using "Path Cut" To Slice Prims
BUILDING: SHAPES - MISSION 2
Building is just going to get cooler and cooler. What if you could just cut a "chunk" or a "wedge" out of a shape?
Instruction
You can cut different sized chunks out of shapes using the Path Cut Begin and End control. You will experiment with different basic shapes to see how this control affects each of them. Let's begin!Practice
Step 1: The Path Cut Begin and End control
The Path Cut Begin and End control is located below the Building Block Type dropdown menu. The Path Cut Begin and End control will cut a section out of any shape you rez. The path it cuts is along the Z axis (the blue axis). The width of the slice, or chunk, that is removed depends on the Begin (B) and End (E) number values you choose. Values can range from 0.000 - 1.000.
Rez a cube. Make sure your cube is in Edit mode. With the Object tab of the Edit window open, use the up/down arrows of the Path Cut control to change both the B (Begin) and E (End) number values. Do you see how your choices affect the size of the "chunk" that is removed? Selecting a small value will look like a small slice has been cut out of your prim. A large value will leave only a slice.
Try removing slices or chunks from each of the other basic shapes. Experiment with different number settings to see if you can make a shape exactly the way you want it. Take your time!
Naming and saving favorite shapes is a real timesaver when you build. Good builders don't recreate a common shape each time they build; they take it out of their inventory. Take a few moments to rename and save some of the great new shapes you think you will use in your future building projects. You might also take a few minutes to practice your texturing. Slightly changing the color of a cut face can really improve the look of an object.
Hollow and Hollow Shape
BUILDING: SHAPES - MISSION 3
What if you could cut a hole in the middle of a shape and hollow it out. You can!
Instruction
Every basic shape can be hollowed out. In fact, even the shape of the hole can be changed. For example, you can put a square hole in a sphere or a round hole in a pyramid.Practice
Step 1: Making a default hole
When you first rez any basic shape, it is not hollow. To hollow a shape, choose the Hollow control, which is usually right underneath the Path Cut Begin and End control. A shape can be hollowed up to 0.95%. It is usually hollowed along the Z axis (blue axis).
Rez a cube. Using the Hollow control, select the up/down arrows to hollow the cube. Do you see how the higher numbers make the hole in the cube larger?
Step 2: Changing the default hole shape
Once you begin to make even a small hole in a shape, the Hollow Shape drop down menu will become active. Now you can change the shape of the hole to a circle, square or triangle.
Rez a cube and hollow it. Rotate it so you can see the shape of the hole. It should be square to match the square shape.
Select the Hollow Shape drop down menu and select Circle or Triangle. Notice how the shape of the hole changes instantly!
Step 3: Hollowing other shapes
Actually seeing what happens to other shapes can inspire you with new building ideas.
Select other shapes and experiment with hollowing them. Change the shape and size of the holes. Note: The Ring, Torus and Tube shapes hollow much differently than the other shapes. Make sure you take the time to really look at them.
Step 4: Combining Hollowing with Cutting
When you begin to combine different building controls, you can really come up with some interesting shapes.
Look at the bench in the photo. It is made of three basic cubes. The texture is the Old Wood texture in your default Library Inventory. You've already learned everything you need to recreate it. Can you?
Using all the building knowledge you have so far, make something wonderful. You are going to be a fabulous builder!
Rez a basic cube. Stretch and flatten it to make the bench seat.
Rez a second cube, and cut it to make a "V" shape for the legs. (You may need to rotate it at this point.)
Narrow the width of the legs to your liking.
Hollow the second cube to your liking and change the Hollow Shape to circle.
Apply a texture to both the seat and leg section.
Select the leg section and shift-drag to make another leg section.
Position the legs and top so they look like a bench.
Link the three prims together and rename. Nice job!
Taper, Top Shear and Dimple
BUILDING: SHAPES - MISSION 4
You have already come a long way in learning how to edit and change basic prim shapes. Now things are about to get really interesting. Different shapes can react much differently to the same control. Two of those controls are Taper and Top Shear.
Instruction
When you taper something, you usually make it smaller at one end. When you shear something, it usually looks a little lopsided - like it's leaning over a bit. However, how Taper and Top Shear look with different basic shapes can be very different! For this mission, your job is to really experiment with all the different basic shapes to see what happens. Note: As you follow along, you will notice that different shapes show Taper and Top Shear in different places in the Object tab of the Edit window.Practice
Step 1: Taper
When a prim is tapered, the top end usually becomes smaller. A prim can be tapered from 0.00 to 1.00 percent on both the X (red) and Y (green) axes. If you can choose negative taper values, such as -0.01 to -1.00, [for a prim, the bottom end will be tapered.
Rez a cube and a cylinder. For both, use the Taper control up/down arrows to taper both the X and Y axes to 1.00. Did you get a pyramid and a cone? Experiment to see what happens if you use smaller taper values.
Step 2: Tapering other shapes
While a sphere cannot be tapered, the other shapes can. The results can be really surprising!
Rez all the other shapes (except for the sphere and half sphere). Really experiment with the amounts of X and Y taper. What is the most surprising shape you have discovered so far?
Step 3: Dimple
Spheres and half spheres cannot be tapered. Instead, they can be dimpled Just like the dimples on someone's chin, a dimple on a sphere makes a small dent, just at the end.
Rez a sphere. Change the numbers in the Dimple Begin and End control to see what happens. What might you make if you also hollowed that sphere?
Step 4: Top Shear
For some prims, such as cubes and cylinders, the Top Shear control will make them look like they are leaning to one side. For other prims, such as toruses, or rings, Top Shear will distort them in unexpected ways! You can use Top Shear on the X (red) or Y (green) axis - or both!
Rez each basic prim shape and experiment with the Top Shear control. Change the settings for both the X an Y axes and see what happens.
Are you beginning to see how much you can change those basic prims? It can really be fascinating to play with shapes. At this point, you are probably surrounded by your strangely-shaped objects. Take a moment to clean up. Name and save shapes you really like and delete the rest. Now travel around Second Life, and R-click (Cmd-click) on objects you see and choose Edit. The prims will be outlined and you can see what kinds of shapes are being used in some of your favorite builds.
Twisting Prims
BUILDING: SHAPES - MISSION 5
When you began this module, you may never have dreamed you could make these kinds of shapes. But wait - there's more! You can twist prims, too.
Instruction
In this last mission on shapes, you will learn to twist different shapes in different ways. Much like twisting a towel or crumpling a piece of paper, twisting prims will lead to some very interesting shapes. Take your time and fully explore how the "twisting" controls affect each different shape. For some shapes, you will have additional twist controls, which will be explained along the way.Practice
Step 1: Simple Twist
Some shapes, such as cubes and cylinders, have only a simple Twist Begin and End control. To really twist these shapes, choose a large beginning number and a large negative ending number.
Rez both a cube and a cylinder and experiment with twisting them using the Twist Begin and End control. To really see the twists, you may want to stretch them into columns first. Other shapes that are based on the cube and cylinder shape will act much the same way. Try twisting pyramids, triangles and cones.
Step 2: Twisting Spheres
Like cubes and cylinders, spheres have only the Twist Begin and End control. However the results of using that one control are really neat!
Rez a sphere. Change the numbers on the Twist Begin and End control to see what happens. Pretty fascinating!
Tip: Combining the control with hollow and dimple can make amazing flower petal-like shapes.
Step 3: Toruses, Tubes and Rings
As you've seen all along, these shapes always seem to do unexpected and surprising things. Twisting them is no exception. You can easily make springs and curl shapes. In fact, these shapes have additional "twist" controls you can change. In addition to Twist Begin and End, you can control the:
- Hole Size - The size of the hole in the middle of the spring.
- Radius Delta - The extent to which each individual coil becomes smaller or larger.
- Revolutions - How many coils are in a spring shape.
- Skew - How flat or rounded each coil appears.
Play with these and you will end up with some amazingly complex shapes. This is one reason that many plant-like and hair prims begin with toruses or tubes - they can be changed in radical ways.Rez a torus. Begin by changing the Twist Begin and End controls. Now, experiment with the Hole Size. Do you see the size of the hole in the middle of the spring changing? Finally, change the Radius Delta and Revolutions controls to see what they will do. As you change the Radius Delta, each individual coil in your spring will get smaller and smaller, like a pyramid of coils. The higher the Revolutions, the more coils in your spring!
Tip: Expert builders spend a lot of time learning how to make exactly the "right" shape. There is just no shortcut to figuring these shapes out. If you find you've made something unique and beautiful, name and save it!
Learning about shapes never ends. Just when you think you've seen it all, you learn something new. The best builders never stop learning! What would happen if you were to combine "twists" with all the other techniques you've learned in this module?
See the Torley video tutorial Learn Building at the Ivory Tower of the Primitives.
Building Test
Shelter - a house - is a basic need for each person on this planet. However, shelters in different parts of the world can look very different. Each part of the world designs shelters to meet the specific needs and resources of that area and culture. Using all of your new building skills, design and build a shelter for people in an area of the world unfamiliar to you and discuss what you've created to your supervisor.
Continue to Chapter 5: Textures: An Introduction to Textures